Here are four that were featured in the Boydell & Brewer: Medieval Herald 32.

Frisians and their North Sea Neighbour

Although Frisians neighboured Anglo-Saxons, Franks, Saxons and Danes in north-western Europe, the details of their lives, communities and culture have remained little-known. Why is this? Well, largely because Frisia and Frisian have meant different things to different people through time, and partly because Frisians had no tradition of writing until relatively late. We trust that this new collection, edited by John Hines and Nelleke IJssennagger, will help change that and broaden knowledge of and interest in the previously mysterious Frisians.

Despite the modest distances that separate them, monuments in south Wales can differ greatly from those in north Wales or the west of England. And although they can tell us much about religious and cultural practices of the time and place, they have until now been sadly understudied. Rhianydd Biebrach explains their special significance, reveals her two favourite monuments and how she undertook her extensive research (losing her dining table in the process). And why we should all (continue to) be grateful to Michael Praed.

The Saint and the Saga Hero: Hagiography and Early Icelandic Literature, by Dr Siân E. Grønlie

While they might not seem to be natural literary bedfellows, Siân E. Grønlie’s new book explains the profound impact that the medieval saint’s life had on the saga literature of Iceland. Predating sagas by several centuries, the Latin lives of saints could, in some ways, be said to provide a model for the (anti-)heroes of the later written sagas, though these protagonists had of course usually led largely un-saintly lives. Here Dr Grønlie provides a quick introduction to both genres and guides us through the results of their intermingling.

Dr Campbell uses the figure of Merlin to demonstrate how language and culture shaped different takes on the same character and story. And what an ideal focus he makes, for within him texts, languages, events real and fictional all converged. Crucially, the language barrier between France and Italy proved highly porous and the fluidity of cultural exchange brought new translations with new narrative possibilities. Dr Campbell explains the remarkable process.